I am a Passionate Advocate of LinkedIn

In fact, I am not only a passionate advocate of Linkedin, but I am also very active on a day to day basis.

I have built many connections and some of those connections have led me to business opportunities that were beyond my imagination when I first got started.

The size and power of Linkedin as a professional networking tool and business development aid is now without doubt.

LinkedIn Statistics and Demographics – July 2011

• Some relevant facts as at July 2011:-
• 119 million users worldwide
• Australian registered users = 2.3 million
• Asia = 16.5 million
• 35% of users login every day
• Men 58.5% Women 41.5%
• Ages:-

• 18-24 23%
• 25-34 35.2%
• 35-54 35%
• +54 6.8%

• Professional Status
•  Over 52% of registered users are outside the USA
• Average income of a LinkedIn user is said to be over US$100K pa
•  There were nearly 2 billion ‘people’ searches on LinkedIn in 2010
•  More than 2 million companies worldwide have LinkedIn Company Pages

100% Completed LinkedIn Profile

You cannot afford to let your LinkedIn profiles lie partly completed, or dormant. Partly completed profiles are a negative reflection on you as a professional. Even when your profiles lie sleeping, half finished or incomplete, others may be reviewing them as a means to establish if they should do business with you or your company.
It’s not just that your profile has to be 100% finished it needs to highlight your skills and achievements to best effect. Meanwhile, without you realising it, opportunities may be passing you by.
So having set up your profile, you need to think:-
“Would someone looking at my profile:

• have a clear picture of my experience?
• know what skills I have to offer?
• feel that I am the person they want to employ or do business with?
• understand why I am on LinkedIn in the first place?”

If the answer to any of those is “no”, then you have work to do.

Your Online Resume
If a resume is about producing a strategically tailored document for a specific role or at least a particular line of work, then your LinkedIn profile has to be all things to all people. You need to communicate your objectives clearly and succinctly and offer an attractive and easily accessible impression of what you have to offer.

It also needs to be searchable. LinkedIn is heavily optimised for search and Google rates it highly. With your own custom profile URL and with your key search terms included, your profile traffic will benefit over time.

In other words, think carefully about the words that you use to describe what you do and ensure that there is a good smattering of your keywords and phrases.

Nevertheless, building your profile is only the beginning; Linkedin is not a passive ‘set and forget’ networking tool. For maximum leverage of LinkedIn, you will need to be actively involved in groups, discussing issues with professionals in or who influence your sector (or even those you oppose) and commenting on their views and issues. But this is stage 2.

Linkedin is not the only tool to promote yourself and your business online, but it is an essential one and a great source of valuable information as well.

There is no better time than now to get started or to complete your Linkedin profile. Contact a Successful Resume representative for assistance.